Izis, who took Chagall’s portraits, came to Paris from his native Lithuania in 1930 with dreams of becoming a painter. From the 1940s, however, he began working as a photographer and demonstrated his talent. In the 1950s, along with Brassaï, Cartier-Bresson, and Doisneau, he earned a reputation as one of France’s leading photographers. He is particularly adept at collaborating with poets and other artists in other fields, and his photo collections, edited with a keen sense for the works that bring each other’s creativity to life, have attracted a great deal of attention.

Izis met Chagall in 1949 through a magazine interview. For the next 20 years, he was the only photographer to continue to photograph Chagall’s work and his private life. The viewfinder showed the entire creation and process of the great artist.

This exhibition is planned and held in conjunction with the “Chagall Exhibition” at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, and will introduce for the first time in Hokkaido the creative process of Chagall and the world of photographer Izis, who captured the artist’s true and unknown face in vivid detail.